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Damage Control Glass Nexus Review & Demo

I usually try to be objective in my demo’s and reviews, but this time I failed; I knew how I was going to review this pedal before I even got it. How did I know? Because it has the word ‘glass’ in the name. In the ranking of gear characteristics that subject objectivity to subjectivity (yep…I definitely sat here for like a half hour thinking that phrase up…hmm…come to think of it, that was a very little payoff for a half an hour), the word ‘glass’ in the name of a piece of gear is like, just below or maybe even equal to wondrous blue and green led’s and jewel lamps. Just that word. ‘Glass’. Like, if I’m listening to someone play a pedal, and I just cannot stand the sound of it, but then they say, ‘Sounds kind of glassy, doesn’t it?’, I’m totally sunk. I will buy it. Every band I have ever been in, I have suggested the name ‘Glass Echo.’ None of my bands have been named ‘Glass Echo.’ Ya. I know. It kind of sounds like a song name from a Dream Theatre ripoff band. Maybe I’ll just stick to playing my guitar. I’m not sure what ‘Nexus’ means. But it reminds me of space. Wait……wasn’t there some movie where they like, talked into their ‘nexuses’ to communicate? Was it Galaxy Quest? I don’t remember. But that was a grand movie. And I’m definitely proud of myself for resisting putting a screenshot of that film in here right now.

But I have seriously been looking into trying this pedal ever since the delay from the Damage Control line just blew me away. If you haven’t seen my reviews on it, I bought it solely because it’s one of the few (possibly the only) multi-setting delay pedal that keeps the dry signal completely analog. But then when I tried it out, I could not believe how good it sounded! That ranks as one of the best gear moments of my life. It felt like sweet rain just started pouring over my……well, I’ll spare you the thoughts I have when I hear good tone or good music…because they’re frighteningly tender.

And the Glass Nexus is capable of some amazingly tender sounds. (Oh ya. You wish you thought of that transition! ) It’s a multi-effects modulation pedal. But for me, its interface is just completely built for ambiance. It’s got 8 modulation effects: phase, leslie, chorus, trem, vibe, flange, vibrato, and detune. These are all selectable one at a time. But it also has reverb and delay that can be used at the same time, and added to whatever modulation setting you’re on. Add on to that, that it also keeps your dry signal completely analog just like the Timeline does, that it’s tube-driven, and that with a single midi pedal you’ve got 128 instantly accessible presets, and the pedal, I admit, starts to look pretty good even before you’ve played a chord through it.

All the modulation effects sound really good. Bordering on surprisingly good. Because they’re all digital. And it’s not much of a secret that I am militant about ‘the integrity of the guitar signal’. And most digital units just kill that. Usually the only digital effects I’ll spring for will be delay and reverb, and only ones that keep the dry signal analog, and only because they’re capable of some features that just aren’t possible with analog. But this unit actually does very well; the mix knob on all the effects is crucial. Because you’re mixing the analog dry signal with the digital effect…which keeps things very warm and helps you maintain that ‘integrity of the guitar signal.’ The tubes also help with this. The effects still do not have the warmth of analog…I don’t know if digital will ever get there. Just by simple definition, I’m of the opinion that it never will. But this pedal does come very close. But here’s the thing. At least in my mind, you don’t buy a pedal like this to get an ‘analog flanger’ sound. Yes, you get some really good sounding effects all in one pedal. But this pedal is its own sound altogether. It’s the mixing of the effects that can yield some brilliant sounds. To add ambiance, to add just a touch on your decay, or to simply take over.

I guess what I’m saying is that, the effects are great on their own. Definitely one of the best multi-effects units out there. But taking the pedal as a whole unit, as one that produces sounds of its own, it becomes truly a great effect. Just my humble (hopefully) opinion.

So here’s the clips. As per request, I do switch between humbucker style guitars and single coil style guitars in these demo videos.

And the Glass Nexus is connected to the Rocktron Midi Mate, which is only switching presets. It’s incapable of adding sounds. All the sounds are from the Glass Nexus.

Video 1:

Video 2:

Video 3:

So hopefully that gives just a small idea of what this pedal is capable of. I’ve only had it for a few days, and haven’t even played out with it yet. So I’m sure I haven’t even begun to stumble upon (how I usually tend to find sounds, unfortunately…hehe) all the things it can produce.

The Good

–As you can probably tell from the videos, as just a delay, this pedal would be great. Extremely full and spacious.

–The reverb maintains all the great decay qualities of a digital reverb.

–All the modulation effects sound very, very good, especially for digital effects. The cool thing is the cleanness that the digital gives to them. Really makes them pliable to be meshed in with the delay and reverb, giving this pedal a sound all its own.

–That own sound is where this pedal really seems to shine.

–True bypass switching, but with the ever-important spillover. It’s literally impossible for me to love that more. But you can switch it off if you like, on any given patch.

–128 presets with one midi pedal.

–All analog dry path, and the ability to mix to taste that analog signal in with the digital effects.

–Damage Control just updated this new batch to be switchable on the tap tempo. There’s a setting you can switch to make strum tempo control the modulation speed, and tap tempo control the delay time; or vice versa. Which is what originally turned me off to this pedal…the inability to set the delay on tap tempo. But that is now fixed, giving a huge boost to this thing’s versatility.

–Really, really good sound quality. This is a good pedal.

The Bad

–Alright, it’s Damage Control, people. This pedal is huge. But if you’re looking into these, you gotta know that by know. It’s the trade-off you make to get the sound and versatility these pedals offer.

–Like the Timeline, it runs off of it’s own 2 amp adapter. That’s basically an amplifier right there. For me, I’m totally okay with that, as it allows the tubes to do their job. But I have to mention it to those who want to run it off a battery. Not gonna happen.

–To get to all the presets properly, you really do need to get an external midi pedal. Now, this might seem bad…but seriously…just one midi pedal and you get 128 presets. When I first got the Timeline, this feature turned me off a bit. Then I finally gave in and got a midi switching pedal. And worlds were opened. Actual worlds.

So, I’m pretty stoked with the sounds that can come out of this pedal. I mean, if it can do Vangelis and such, it’s okay in my book. I didn’t really like Blade Runner…it seemed to take itself just a little too seriously. Like, ‘This is artsy, and we know it. So suck it if you think this shot is painstakingly slow.’ I don’t know. Maybe I was in a bad mood when I saw it. But the score was just phenomenal!

And the Glass Nexus seems to just hearken those sounds. (Not Galaxy Quest sounds; Blade Runner. I enjoyed ‘Galaxy Quest more, but the score from Blade Runner might beat Galaxy Quest…just a bit. Overall, another really killer product from Damage Control. And one of the best things is that it kind of inspires you to be creative a bit. There are possibilities in this pedal that I haven’t even thought about yet. Same with the Timeline. Just awesome. And I have absolutely no room on my pedalboard for this. I’ll make some.

So… how is this going to fit on your board, and will you take a picture of it once its reset?

random question that kinda fits here: when you do your swells with Fuzz, the delay is set to long and lots of repeats, but do you also do a “reverse” delay (long and lots of repeats?)?
It kinda has this “bowing” sound that I like. Just curious what your main way was in your vids.
I’m liking the Hartman a lot for sound “liveliness” but the cheap Muff has a lot more sustain. So I’m trying to balance the Hartman out. Any suggestions would be great. But great pedal, I told him your vids sold me

Does the Glass Nexus (that totally sounds like a Dream Theater song) play nicely with the Timeline? Can you use one MIDI Mate to control both pedals? If so, can you change the setting on both pedals with one button on the MIDI Mate (probably not)?

I really wish that these pedals weren’t so huge. I love my Timeline, but I simply don’t have room for the Glass Nexus unless I dump all of my dirt (not gonna happen).

Very nice! Did you get a new camera? I’m not used to the 10 min videos. Good thing it’s friday and I don’t have much to do I think you’re putting keyboardists out of business with this pedal! Sounds great though. If they ever come out with a version that fits on pedalboards I’m in

Kenrick–ya, this pedal surprised me very much. I didn’t expect it to be able to do what it can! I’m not sure if it will get to the point that the Timeline’s got to. I think it’s well worth it, but it seems like more people go crazy over delays than multi-effects. Although this is basically a keyboard in a pedal, rather than a multi-effects unit. So who knows? Maybe it will be the next craze.

Larry–sorry, I don’t mean to invoke ‘gear-buying’ with this blog…no, yes I do. There are few things better than buying gear, right? And actually, I’m not sure how this is going to fit on my board, let alone be able to get enough power. I’m pushing my power conditioner as it is, so some changes may be in order. I have a lot of ideas in my head of my this is going to get used in my rig, so I’ll keep you updated.

As far as the fuzz, ya, I’ll do reverse on the swells sometimes. In the ‘Fuzz in Modern Music’ videos, though, I think it was just normal long delay into a couple analog ones. Some of the difference in sounds is from the way I strum or pick certain notes, the emphasis I put on the volume knob or pedal, and switching pickups…which I find is huge with fuzz.

And the Muff has more sustain than the Hartman? I guess I could see that. The germanium chips in the Hartman are very sensitive…so, this sounds weird, but depending on which pickups you’re feeding it with, what pedals you have on with it, what the weather is like, how long it’s been on, it will react very differently. So there really isn’t one setting for it. But there are certain settings (with my guitar, as well as the pedal) and certain positions around my amp to get the feedback right, that it can get a ton of sustain. Basically, I guess what I’m saying is the germanium fuzzes are much more reactionary. Which makes them sometimes a little more difficult to get the sounds you want, but also more fun! hehe How are you setting your Hartman?

Phillip–lol It does sound like a Dream Theatre song! And yes, it plays quite nicely with the Timeline. And it seems like Damage Control has set it up for you to be able to control both pedals with one midi pedal; because the Timeline responds to messages on midi channel 1, and the Glass Nexus responds on midi channel 2. However, I’ve been trying to get one of my Midi Mates to split and do like, bottom five buttons on channel 1, and top 5 on channel 2, but as of yet have been unsuccessful. So I think you can control both with one pedal (and a midi y box, of course), but I’m not sure the Midi Mate is the pedal for it.

Because I’m kind of in the same boat. I may be able to fit the Glass Nexus on my board, but there’s no way I can fit another Midi Mate. And yes, dirt is extremely important!! lol So it can’t kick off too many of those in my rig, either.

Mike–thanks, bro. Ya, I finally bit the bullet and actually spent the $12 on a bigger memory card for the camera. I’m so bad at buying anything that doesn’t make sounds. hehe

And I know, these things are so huge. But when you open up the backs and check out the circuitry, I’m not sure they can get all that in a smaller version. We’ll see. Maybe the second series of these will be smaller and have some sort of digital readout.

Mark–haha sorry to exclude you, bro! You must have typed that comment as I was typing the response to the other comments. haha It’s great to meet another Galaxy Quest fan! Feels like I’m alone sometimes. lol

Yeah, I know people that actually walked out of the theater. I don’t get it. I actually liked Star Trek. I met Shatner at a Trek convention in Chicago a couple of years ago and he thought that GQ was funny.

That pedal sounds great but…..a 2 amp power supply and a foot print the size of home plate are probably going to make it…not on the list of purchases this year. Hmmm…might work in my studio though…..Oh no!

hey man! that sounds great! i have heard so many good things about damage control products even from their demonizer/womanizer days. just not a good name to use around the church

btw, i don’t have a midi mate but I used to play a lot with MIDI controller (still hasn’t let go of my FCBC1010). And so I started reading the manual of the MIDI Mate and here’s what it says …

“The MIDI Mate™ is capable of sending out six different sets of patch changes on six different MIDI channels.”

so theoretically, you should be able to split your midimate any which way you want. one thing i would do is to contact the support for damage control and ask them if the MIDI-out can be configured as pass-thru. that way you don’t have to buy a midi-multiplexer and you would be able to control both with 1 preset! very very cool!

i used to do this with VAMP2 & DG-stomp controlled by FCBC1010 and it was so much fun

Mark–William Shatner thought it was funny? That’s awesome! I seriously love it when people can have a sense of humour about themselves.

And lol! Ya, be careful with these Damage Control products! I once thought they were too big and drew too much power too, and then I reconfigured the entire size, layout, and power capabilities of my board to accommodate them! hehe They’re dangerous pedals.

Rhoy–thanks, man. Ya, they’re just incredible pedals. But ya, ‘Demonizer’ might not work at church. I once had a ZVex Super Hard-On on my board that sounded incredible; and I tried to cover the name with some cloth. But by the time Sunday rolled around, I chickened out and sold it. haha You make a good point; we do want to be careful about just being above reproach when we’re in any type of church leadership; worship team and gear names included! hehe

And seriously great ideas on the midi! Props on the ‘pass-thru’ thing, because ya…if that works, then it would eliminate the need for any splitter boxes. As far as the midi channels, I’m still working with that. It was easy enough to switch the channels so that I could get the Glass Nexus to receive messages on channel 2, but thus far, changing the channels to 1 thru 6 changes them for all 128 patches. I’ll have to look into it deeper. Because 3 midi mates just isn’t going to happen unless I’m on tour with Coldplay…which, unfortunately, is not looking very likely at this point.

Karl— honestly I haven’t really spent the TLC that a fuzz requires. Was just curious for when I do get the time (The infamous national boards are next Tue and Wed) which will be very very soon. I know alot my fuzz’s reactivity is the climate/humidity etc… here. I bought the version with the internal bias control for that purpose and will really nail down the sound in the future.
Fuzz is its own creature— IMHO, Fuzz and Wahs (separate or combined) are almost their own instruments!

I was one of those who did not like galaxy quest. Until I saw it a second time, then I bought it. What a flick. (same way with Sean of the Dead)

Karl , you left out the most important effect of all . the one it has on my wallet ! im thinking it must be in the high dollar range yes ? hope not it really does have a beautiful sound thanks for the demo . it speaks volumes !!!!

Larry–haha Ya! When I responded to you about the temperature thing, I wasn’t even thinking about where you’re located. Then that definitely is going to have an effect. And I totally agree with you on fuzzes being their own deal. Wahs? lol Well, you know my feelings on wahs…I’m not even going to mention how many I’ve owned trying to make myself get into them. Maybe someday! hehe

Rhoy–:) I totally appreciate it, especially since you’ve got a midi background. Midi fascinates me because it’s almost like the technology was so complete to begin with. It’s not new, but it’s still often times more useful than a lot of the new technologies in the same fields.

And ya…the ZVex…still one of the best clean boosts I’ve heard…but…lol

Craig–thanks, bro. And great comment about the wallet! hehe The pedal is about $400 new. Which is a lot, but it can also do a lot…there’s a lot of features and versatility in there with the ability to have 128 presets…well, over 1,000 if you get a really crazy midi medal to hook into it. You can order direct from Damage Control at:

Right on! That’s a great pedal! That’s funny, too, because I’ve been thinking about picking up another one, as well, lately. It’s one of the ones I regret selling. Are you using it as a preamp, or a solo boost?

I’d only used it one Sunday so far and I used it both ways. It was just on most of the time, but on one or two songs, it started off and I kicked it on when I just needed a bit more… It really does sound great when going into an OD, but it also made my clean tone sparkle. I like the fact that you can boost or cut both highs and lows. I had it set for noon, but that feature is pretty versatile.

Ryan–good times! Love that pedal! Not sure why I didn’t respond to this at the time…we were probably talking about the workshop via e-mail or something.

Skonger–the delay on the Nexus sounds very good, but it’s really basic. You’ve got controls for time, repeats, filter, and mix. And no, if you want dotted eighths on it, you either need to feel it or tap them yourself. hehe It does not have a setting to tap quarters, and get dotted eighths.

Did you ever figure out how to control 2 pedals with one board… You’re making me want to get the Glass Nexus and the Timeline… Also did you figure out how you could transmit a midi timeclock to set the tempo instead of tapping?

Ya, the guy from Rocktron e-mailed me back and told me how. It was really complicated. hehe But I haven’t a use for it right now, as having three Damage Control pedals at 2 amps each pushes my rig over the capacity of my power conditioner. I thought it would be okay, but there’s some noticeable sag. So it’s in the closet until I have the money for a higher powered conditioner. But, yes, it can be done, and I’ll forward you the e-mail if you would like.

And yes, you can transmit midi time clock to both of them. It’s in the manuals. My problem has been finding a midi time clock that’s not computer-based. haha I haven’t seemed to be able to find one that’s built as a stand-alone unit. If you know of any, please let me know!

Yeah. I’m going to have to measure the pedal board set up that I’m looking at to make sure the pedals will fit with a midi thingy. I was looking into the time clock thing too, and though perhaps a metronome or a drum machine would be able to do it, but all the really tiny ones don’t have a midi out. If I do end up getting the 2 pedals, then I’ll ping you again for that email. Did you ever try out the Empress Super Delay? Too many good options…

Yes, that’s exactly what I ran into! All the time clock modules with midi outs are way too big for a pedalboard. Such a bummer.

And no, I’ve yet to try out the Empress. It’s on my list, but right now, they’re still a little too hot to be able to recoup my money if I end up not liking it. Every once in a while, there’ll be a great price on one, but I’ve as of yet been too late to all of those. But it does look pretty good!

Hey J, I’m currently using the Furman Power Factor Pro; it’s great, but it’s only rated at 12 amps…so with each Damage Control pedal taking 2 amps, 3 of them would already take half my power capacity. Eventually, I’m going to upgrade to the Furman IT-20, which not only has a 20 amp rating, but isolates each outlet individually.

Hey Karl,
After watching your youtube video’s on the Glass Nexus I bought a midi mate to control my Glass Nexus and other midi capable pedals. How do you have yours programed? Also I have an Adrenalynn III I’m counting on to generate midi clock for the Nexus and my Boss Slicer. Thoughts?

Nice site by the way! All I’m using the Midi Mate to do is to send program change messages to the Glass Nexus. So no fancy setup whatsoever. The only thing I had to go into and change was that the Nexus accepts midi messages on channel 2, and I believe the Rocktron’s default is on channel 1. So I did have to go in and change that. But that was it.
And thanks for the tip on the Adrenalinn! I’m not sure if I can spend $400 on something I’d just use for clock, but I’m watching one on e-bay right now. Much thanks!

OK Karl you sold me on the Timeline and now that is one of my favorite pedals. One of my best sounds taps the Memory Lane 2 at 1 & 3 and the Timeline at 2 & 4 on one of its endless trails patches. Then use an EBow. It is like a symphony. Now I have to get a Glass Nexus. With having those three pedals on the board, how could I go wrong? Thank you so much for the videos! I love the tones I get out of the Timeline. HMMM…what can I sell on EBay to get a Glass Nexus? God Bless you bro

Hey Karl,
I wanted to see what your thoughts were of the Eventide Modfactor in comparison to this pedal. I’ve been looking for a good multi-effect modulation pedal and I’m debating between these two. Let me know what you think!

Mark–ah! Sorry, I must’ve missed that comment. Anyway, what you described sounds awesome in my head! hehe

Sal–I’m a big Damage Control fan just because they leave your dry signal untouched. The Eventide stuff really hurts my dry tone, to my humble ears. However, a lot of people don’t hear that or don’t care or maybe I’m just crazy, and the Modfactor has more options than the Nexus. However, the Nexus still has a good amount of options, and in my humble opinion, is unmatched in sound quality.

Great review !
I have the glass nexus too and i must say it is a fantastic sounding pedal. I looked for so long to find a programmable unit which has chorus, reverb and delay and NO distortion or amp simulations. I control it with a Tech21 midi moose which fits in my case of the pedal train2 and is a good match. I had the rocktron midi mate too, when i had a rack system, but it is too big for my current board.
I would love to see another control for the reverb like decay or tone and maybe for the modulatin as well. But the effects sound great anyway. I used to have a Tech21 Reverb and Delay on my board, which sounded pretty fine but you had to get along with just one setting.
BTW damage control does not have a distributor in germany i got the last one from peavey for quite a bargain.
Cheers Alex

Right on! Always nice to hear about other Damage Control fans! Ya, I’ve run it with some Tech 21 stuff before, but I like the Rocktron because I can name patches, and I’m vain like that. hehe And I think Behringer makes some midi controllers with dual expression pedals; you might be able to program those to control reverb decay or something. I’m not sure, but it might be worth a try. And you may have picked up one of the very last one’s from Peavey! Congrats! Cheers, and have a great day!

Hello Karl,
Thanks for all the reviews and posts. I really appreciate the info, reviews, and weirdness. Also, as an aged follower of U2 (unless they are playing bland, forgettable sellout pop), I appreciate the U2 asides.

So, out of curiosity, if you only had a generic delay pedal in your arsenal, which of the two Damage Control units would you purchase? The inclusion of delay on the Glass Nexus, and the inclusion of modulation effects on the Timeline throws all my considerations out of whack.

Does the Timeline give you two independent delays? If so, do you find that preferable to having two delay pedals?

Hey, no problem! Glad to be of some service, and to chat with another U2 fan.

As for the Damage Control products, it depends on what your needs are. The Timeline has a ton more delay options. So, for me, as I use delay a lot, hehe, I would keep just the Timeline if I had to keep just one. But if you really need modulation effects (phase, trem, vibe, etc.), and your delay needs are somewhat simple, than I’d say go with the Glass Nexus. You can tweak the Timeline to get some flange, phase, and vibe effects, but once you get them, there’s little control over them.

I hope that helps a bit and doesn’t just confuse things more! hehe Or you could just get both. Problem solved. hehe

I’m using the timeline for most of my delay, so that’s not an issue, and I use the verb from the twin reverb often, so that’s not a huge issue either, but I keep going back and forth with the GN from earlier in the chain to later, as I do use the trem/vibe/leslie/chorus/phase pretty often.

The leslie/vibe/phase sound great early, but can get some pretty weird tonal qualities running post-dirt. The modulation effects sound great post-dirt, but can create some pretty weird (unintended and often ugly) hamonics running pre-dirt, as the dirt tends to do some weird things when amplifying a modulated signal.

Ya, that’s the problem with these all in one pedals. For me, I’d put it wherever you use the most effects. For instance, if you use chorus and trem the most, put the Nexus ahead of the dirt, and then get a separate vibe pedal for before the dirt.

lol Sorry for the lame suggestion, but that’s all I’ve got! If I were more of tech head, maybe I could tell you how to put a static loop in the Nexus between the vibe and trem. lol But I am definitely not that smart!!

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